Chad Ho became the first man to win three Midmar Mile titles in a row on Sunday, while British swimmer Keri-Anne Payne clinched a record seventh successive crown in the women’s race in Howick, Kwa-Zulu Natal.

The 21-year-old Ho finished the world’s largest open water race in a time of 18 minutes, 48 seconds, beating fellow countryman Troyden Prinsloo (19:09) and Italian Federico Colbertaldo (19:24).

The Durban-based swimmer, who came ninth in the 10 kilometres open water race at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, led from start to finish at Midmar Dam, where the choppy water conditions were not ideal.

It was the slowest time of Ho’s two previous races after he won the race in 18:27 in 2011 and 18:39 in 2010.

On the women’s side, Johannesburg-born Payne, now based in England, came through in a time of 20:44 to win a sprint finish with American Ashley Twichell and compatriot Danielle Hall-Jackson.

The winning margin was just two seconds ahead of Twichell (20:46) and Hall-Jackson (21:03), while the first South African to finish was Rene Warnes in a time of 22:23 in fifth place.

Payne clinched the title for a seventh time, bettering the record of six that she shared with Natasha Figge (1990-1996).